Turkish teacher, family suspected to be involved in terrorism repatriated

05 Sep 2019 / 16:33 H.

Pix of Arif Gomis (behind, L), his wife and children, courtesy of Kronos.

GERIK: A Turkish teacher and his family who were believed to be involved in terrorist activities had been sent back to their country of origin last week, said Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador.

He said the family of six including four children were handed over to Turkish authorities with the coordination of the Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on a regular flight.

“I am confident they will get justice under the legal system of their country,” he told reporters after a 2019 Award Presentation Ceremony for Perak Police Contingent here today.

At the ceremony, 300 retired and 200 serving officers in the police force received their medals in appreciation of their sacrifice to the country. Also present was Perak Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

Abdul Hamid stressed that police did not arbitrarily send people back to their country of origin if there was no strong evidence that they were involved in terrorist activities.

He said based on information received from Turkey, the teacher, Arif Gomis, 43, was involved in a group which allegedly organised violence and launched a bloody coup attempt resulting in the deaths of 200 people.

In this regard, Abdul Hamid told the United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) not to make wild accusations against the police on the case.

“If they are not satisfied they can come to my office and I can explain to them.

“I am confident he will be accorded the proper legal defence and rights there. We were given the grounds linked to terrorism, so we fully cooperated,” he said.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported as saying police have strong grounds to repatriate the Turkish teacher and his family believed to be involved in terrorist activities.

A local portal had earlier reported that the Malaysian authorities would be repatriating Gomis, 43, his wife and children on allegations of being involved in a movement labeled as Angkara which is terrorist group even though the family was given protection by the United Nations (UN).

It was learned that Arif could be exposed to dangers if repatriated to his country of origin. — Bernama